Notes: Iuapti’s injury could end offensive line’s streak

NEW ORLEANS – The same five members of the 49ers’ offensive line have made 26 straight starts dating to 2012, but that streak appears to be in serious jeopardy.

All-Pro left guard Mike Iupati left the Superdome on crutches and had a large brace on his left knee after San Francisco’s 23-20 loss on Sunday.

Iuapti was injured late in the third quarter when running back Frank Gore crashed into the back of his left leg after he was tackled for no gain by nose tackle Brodrick Buckley. Iuapti was replaced by Adam Snyder, 31, a nine-year veteran with 131 career starts.

Meanwhile, cornerback Tarell Brown (ribs) exited in the second quarter after he tackled Saints running Pierre Thomas following a 10-yard gain. Brown remained on the field for about five minutes and had difficulty sitting on a cart, which ferried him off the field and into the locker room.

With Brown out, Tramaine Brock assumed his starting role and Eric Wright, making his debut with the 49ers, served as the nickel cornerback.

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The 49ers didn’t have any timeouts for the final 10:26 of the first half after Jim Harbaugh whiffed on two replay challenges.

In the first quarter, he thought Saints quarterback Drew Brees had crossed the line of scrimmage before tossing an eight-yard completion to Darren Sproles. Replays clearly showed Brees was behind the line.

In the second quarter, Harbaugh challenged an incomplete pass to wide receiver Jon Baldwin, who nearly had a 14-yard touchdown catch, but lost possession of the ball as he fell out of bounds. Harbaugh consulted with offensive assistant Eric Mangini, who was in the coaches’ booth, before throwing each of his challenge flags.

“We didn’t have a video review on the first one,” Harbaugh said. “(On the second challenge), we knew he was in. We knew there was a question of whether the ball was bobbled and we decided to challenge it.”

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The Saints victory snapped a two-game losing streak against the 49ers. Their playoff loss at Candlestick Park in January 2012 was clearly still a motivating factor.

“This was a team that kicked us out of the playoffs two years ago,” linebacker Junior Galette said. “It still hurts. If we would have won that game, then we would have come back here and played New York at home. We know this is a team that we might see later on in the playoffs. It’s good to get that out of the way.”

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Frank Gore made his 38th straight start, the longest streak among active running backs. … Tight end Vernon Davis (4 catches, 33 yards, TD) moved past Freddie Solomon and into eighth place on the franchise’s all-time list for receiving yards. Davis has 4,904 career yards. … Over the past seven games, the 49ers have converted each of their 18 takeaways into points (11 TDs, 7 FGs).